“So, it was the overall exposure to a tournament of this magnitude that was taken into primary consideration,” said Kohli.

After making his debut in 2004, Karthik has played 91 one-day internationals while Pant has five to his name.

Kohli, who will be leading India for the first time at the World Cup, said he was not bothered about the constant attention he gets as a batsman and captain.

“I don’t want to be the centre of everything. Nobody wants that. But when your intent is to make the team win, eventually you end up doing things which are always going to be seen,” said Kohli, the world’s number one Test and one-day player.

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